PMO conducts alarm-response drills on Okinawa

Story and Photos by Pfc. Brianna Turner

CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan  — This was the only warning given before doors slammed open during the Provost Marshal’s Office alarm-response training held at Futenma Housing on Camp Foster Aug. 16.

The Marines, a part of Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, conducted a variety of scenarios to prepare themselves for responding to alarms.

The training began with a brief by Staff Sgt. Sean L. Demoe, the PMO training staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge. He discussed alarm systems, locations that use alarms, causes of alarms triggering and supporting units military police can call when they need backup.

“Train for every event as if they were real alarms, because you never know when something is going to happen,” said Demoe during the brief.

After the brief, the Marines began a series of scenarios such as anonymous calls from a bank, duress alarms from an armory and complaints from a housing area.

Duress alarms are secret alarms usually indicating there is an intruder on a property, said Staff Sgt. Jeremy C. Bloom, the training chief for PMO.

“When these alarms are set off, we call the location that it came from, and if we don’t receive an answer or they cannot provide the safe word, our patrols respond,” Bloom said.

The preparation is part of PMO’s annual required training to keep the Marines ready for any contingency.

“We have to let the Marines practice these scenarios, so they know how to handle calls that are out of the ordinary,” said Demoe.

Alarm-response training keeps the Marines familiar with how they should respond and ensures they respond safely, said Bloom.

The practice not only helps  military police become familiar with different situations, but also benefits the military community.

“This training is meant to make sure personnel and property are properly safeguarded,” said Demoe.

For this  year’s training, peer review was very important, said Bloom.

“It was very peer oriented. They were judged by each other while the senior leadership observed and gave advice,” said Bloom.” This is important because they often notice things about each other that we miss.”